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Posts Tagged ‘Big Data and Geospatial’

As an industry buzzword, ‘Big Data’ has reached near ubiquity in nearly every sector, which is completely justified because large amounts of data have become a driving force for any large enterprise.

But just how big is ‘Big Data’? If we look at the numbers, it can be quite astounding – reinforcing both the challenge and value of leveraging data.

For example, there are 2.7 Zetabytes of data exist in the digital universe today. In one month, the Library of Congress collected 35 Terabytes of data. Consumer technology giants like Facebook store, accesses, and analyze 30+ Petabytes of user-generated data. In addition, IDC estimates that by 2020, business transactions on the Internet will reach 450 billion per day.

The government IT and corporate enterprise world is keen to grasp the opportunities and challenges with “big data.” In the geospatial sector, this is a challenge that we have managed for years.

Whether it is for forestry management or defense and intelligence, geospatial data is almost always classified as “big.” This type of data captures areas of interest in multiple views, providing insight on change and its ramifications. Utilized as a means for detailed analysis, this data is the foundation for high-level decision making within any type of organization.